


Sodalis

by Partner_In_Time



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 09:02:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8527132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Partner_In_Time/pseuds/Partner_In_Time
Summary: An AU where the spirit animal of your soulmate is your companion. There are no Grimm or faunas or auras.Mostly Yang.





	

**Author's Note:**

> SODALIS.  
> Meaning  
> Companion, Mate, Fellow, Intimate, Comrade

Your Sodalis appears a few seconds after you're born.

It's a cute little kitten, black as the night with golden eyes. It stretches and curls around you as you bury your face in its soft fur and fall asleep.

Your dad says it's highly unusual for a Sodalis to appear so soon in someone's life. He says that the bond you share with your soulmate must be really strong, that you'll be inseparable once you find each other.

It's the first ever memory you have of your life.

You name the kitten Midnight because of its black fur.

You grow up together.

Everywhere you go he comes with you. You're partners in crime, even though you can see he's more introvert than you. He likes lying in warm places while you always move around playing or trying to find something interesting to pass your time.

He is there right next to you when your parents bring your little sister home.

He climbs on top of your head as you lean forward to get a closer look.

"Yang say hello to your little sister Ruby" your mother says as the two of you stare at the little baby wrapped in a blanket in her arms. Her own Sodalis, a big golden lioness, sitting proudly next to her.

"Wuby..." you say in awe, still having trouble pronouncing the 'r'. Midnight purrs softly on top of your head, sharing your enthusiasm for the newest member of your family.

From that point things change. You start getting bigger and so does Midnight.

He grows to the size of a regular cat but doesn't stop there. Soon he's taller than you and you can ride on his back, which you do.

Confused you ask your dad about it. You think maybe he's like mom's Sodalis, a lioness but black instead of golden. He laughs at your confused face and explains that he's not a lioness.

He's a panther.

He explains that a panther is basically a big black cat.

 

* * *

 

When Ruby is big enough she becomes a permanent part of your games. It's not just you and Midnight anymore.

You and Ruby get in all kinds of trouble while Midnight usually lies nearby keeping an eye on you in case your games get out of hand.

You spend hours running around in your front yard chasing each other (a game Ruby always won since she's really fast) or fighting with your wooden swords.

Sometimes your mom or dad would join you along with their Sodalis. Mom's golden lioness, Sol and dad's snow leopard Mani. When that happened Midnight joined in on your games as well and it was the best thing ever.

You spend your early childhood like that. Always outside, having fun with Ruby and Midnight and on cold rainy days holed up in your living room in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate, listening to your parents’ stories.

One of those times you asked them about their Sodalis names and what did they mean.

They tell you that Sol and Mani are two ancient gods. Sol is the goddess of the sun and Mani, her brother, is the god of the moon. Each drives their own chariot carrying the sun and the moon respectively to the skies.

You ask if it was a coincidence they named their Sodalis like that or if it was fate, a term you didn't fully comprehend back then.

They don't answer you. They avoid the question. Instead they offer you and Ruby more cookies. You don't pay any attention to it back then. It didn't seem that important.

Then one day your mother leaves.

It's nothing surprising really. She would often go to work related trips and leave you behind with dad.

You and Ruby say goodbye to her on the front door like always. But this time it feels different. You can't understand why, but you have a bad feeling in your gut.

You don't say anything though.

You don't know what to say.

Midnights feels your distress and paces nervously on the space behind you.

Summer hugs Ruby and kisses her forehead telling her to behave.

She does the same to you but she also tells you to take care of your little sister.

You hug her back tighter than usual and promise that you will.

She turns her back on you and walks away with her cape floating behind her.

It's the last time you see her.

She's gone for a long time but that's not what tips you off.

Sometimes her trips would last for months. Her job as an archaeologist was demanding like that, so when three months passed and she wasn't back, no one got worried.

You know you will never see her again when Mani disappears.

You're sitting on the front garden with your dad when it happens.

Ruby is out shopping with uncle Qrow so she doesn't see it. It's for the best you think. It would break her if she saw it.

You and your dad are playing Remnant: A Game, hands down the best board game ever, while Midnight and Mani play around in the grass.

You watch them go at it and laugh as Midnight trips over his own feet and Mani pounces on him.

The next second dad grunts and clutches his chest desperately, as his eyes widen and his breath quickens. At the same time Mani lets out a pained yelp and stumbles back.

He moves forward whining, trying to reach your dad as he starts to dissolve into white dust.

In a few seconds it's over.

Mani is gone.

There's nothing left.

You feel like someone or something ripped a hole right through your chest where your heart is supposed to be. Midnight whines miserably a little to the side.

"Dad?" you whisper terrified, still trying to understand what just happened.

He doesn't answer you. He just grunts painfully still clutching his chest and gets back on the house.

You stay outside as you hear crashing sounds and then silence.

Midnight comes over and rubs his head on you. You hug him tight and cry in his soft fur.

You stay like that until uncle Qrow comes back with Ruby. She runs over to you worried. It's the first time she's ever seen you cry.

Qrow only tells you to stay where you are as he rushes inside. His Sodalis, a white owl called Storm following him.

That night you hold Ruby close to you as she sobs on your neck. Midnight is lying on the ground watching over you with his golden orbs.

The next day you learn about the horrible accident that took your mother's life.

Uncle Qrow answered the phone and he was the one to deliver the news to you and Ruby. Silent tears fall down your cheeks as he explains that the cave your mother was collecting samples from caved in with her inside. She and two more members of her expedition died instantly.

Ruby tightens her hold on your hand at the word 'dead' and looks at you with big confused eyes.

You don't think she quite understands what it means but you're sure she gets that she will not see Summer ever again.

You don't know how dad takes the news. Qrow disappears for a whole hour in his room. You can't hear what they are saying, and you don't try to. 

Your father becomes more distant as the time passes. He drinks a lot and he's rarely at home.

It's up to you to take care of Ruby. And that's exactly what you do.

You leave behind your old self. The child that always craved for an adventure and had fun all the time. You become a responsible adult way too soon.

Midnight is the only one that helps you get through this. Your anchor. He keeps you sane and helps you stay true to yourself and not get lost in grief.  Because you might put up a brave face in front of everyone and hide your pain but truth is, you cry yourself to sleep every night.

He stays with you until you calm down and fall asleep. And eventually it's his presence that helps you get over the pain.

One night after you read a book to Ruby and put her to sleep, you find your dad on the living room staring numbly at the empty fireplace. He has a glass of whiskey in his hand and a half full bottle lying near his feat.

He sees you come in and calls you over.

He tells you about Mani. How he wasn't his first Sodalis.

Before him there was another called Huginn.

And Summer wasn't his first soulmate.

Before her there was another called Raven.

He tells you their story. How they found each other like they were destined to. How much they loved and cared for each other.

But then Raven left him suddenly. And when he found out he changed completely.  His Sodalis changed along with his personality.

It changed and shifted and turned into Mani.

And with that change he realized a big truth about the world that not many know.

It's not destiny or fate or any of those things that determine who your soulmate is.

It's you.

It's who you are.

Who you choose to be.

You decide who your soulmate is.

And once he realized that and understood that his future was now intertwined with Summer's everything made sense.

Summer's Sodalis was already named Sol. He was always her soulmate and she always knew. But she wasn't his, so she didn't say anything.

He named his changed Sodalis Mani so they could match.

He thought it was romantic.

Then he looked at you straight in the eyes and told you something that changed your life forever.

His first love, his first soulmate, Raven... she's your real mother.

Your biological mother.

He tells you how she abandoned you and him some time after you were born. And ever since then no one has seen her. Not ever her brother, your uncle Qrow.

You want to ask him a million question's but don't even know where to start.

He just tells you that he, Qrow, Summer and Raven were all in the same school at Beacon Academy.

That's how they all met.

 

* * *

 

You fall into a pattern eventually.

Your dad will ignore you and spend half of his day drunk and the other half hungover. Somehow he manages to keep his job as a martial arts trainer.

You guess beating up people lets him get rid of his anger and pent up frustration.

As for your anger and pent up frustration, all you can do is keep it bottled up inside.

You have to put a brave face for Ruby, because right now you're all she has.

So you ignore your pain and sadness and replace them with a warm smile and a huge hug for your little sister. You become her shield, her royal protector, because she deserves the world and there is no one else to give it to her.

One night you and Ruby are coming back from one of her soccer matches. She would prefer to sign on a track team but your school didn't have one, so she settled for soccer. At least that way she could run to her hearts content up and down the field.

She's chatting excitedly about the game when you see a group of guys walking towards you.

From their loud and slurred voices you can tell they're drunk and you pull Ruby a little closer to you. Midnight lets out a soft hiss under his breath as his ears fall flat on his head and the hairs on his back stands on edge.

You open your step hoping they will pass by you.

They don't.

You try to avoid them and go on your way but they have other ideas.

They call you names and make inappropriate gestures and you push Ruby behind you as you glare at them. Midnight is doing the same against their Sodalis who seem disoriented as well.

Then one of the men somehow gets a hold of Ruby and you lose it.

You don't even think about it. You punch him straight in the face. You hear a sickening crunch as your knuckles connect with his nose and break it.

From that point on it's a mess.

Midnight jumps into a fight with their Sodalis: a dog, a ferret and a scruffy looking parrot.

You shout at Ruby to run away, go back home as you kick the second guy that makes a grab at her.

She lets go of her soccer bag and runs as fast as she can. You feel a wave of relief as you watch her disappear in the shadows.

Ruby and Qrow find you almost an hour later slumped down on a brick wall with Midnight whimpering, curled up by your side.

Broken, beaten and bleeding out from a couple of stab wounds from the knife they got out halfway into the fight.

You're barely breathing when they get you to the hospital.

You've lost a lot of blood and you need a transfusion. Ruby's compatible so she donates her blood for you. The nurses will later tell you how lucky you are to have a sister like her. How Ruby insisted they take all of her blood if it meant they could help you.

She saved your life in more ways than one that night

They can't get a hold of your father. He's passed out on some bar probably.

It's not until the next day that Qrow finds him and drags him to the hospital. He sports a black eye when you see him and you're sure Qrow is responsible.

He's there when you wake up confused in a foreign environment.

He's gripping your hand tightly while Ruby is curled up on the armchair, sound asleep, with Midnight lying on her feet.

"Dad..." you start and the word hurts your throat.

"Don't speak baby you're hurt"

"Raven is gone." He freezes at your words.

"Raven is gone and so is Summer, but I'm not. Ruby is not. We are still here. And we need you. So please don't give up."

Something shifts in his eyes at that moment and you know you finally got through to him.

Slowly your lives get back to normal, at least as normal they can be.

Your dad has stopped drinking and pays more attention to you and your sister. You know he's still not over Summer's death, but he has accepted it and it's enough for you.

He tries his best to be a responsible dad and you love him even more from it.

He also decides to teach how to fight.

“So you can protect your sister and also yourself” he says and you know he still feels guilty about what happened.

You agree and you are not disappointed. You find that you like fighting and working out.

It’s a nice outlet for your anger and pent up energy.

 

* * *

 

One day you and Ruby are coming back home from the park and she's chatting excitedly about a new friend she made when she stops abruptly. You freeze in place as a swirling wind gathers white dust in front of her. It takes the form of a majestic white horse that bows right in front of her.

Ruby squeaks excited and hugs the horse's lowered neck. It raises its head in surprise pulling the short girl up so her legs are left dangling in the air.

You laugh wholeheartedly for the first time since that awful day. Midnight purrs happily next to you, waggling his tail.

After a lot of thought she ends up calling the horse Blizzard.

You and dad make plans to demolish one of the walls on her room so you can make it big enough to fit Blizzard so she can sleep near Ruby.

You know how it feels to be separated from your Sodalis and you don't want Ruby to ever feel like that.

Once after a particularly bad incident where you punched a guy in the face for talking shit about a girl in your class, your parents grounded you and made you sleep apart from Midnight for two nights. It was the two worst nights of your life.

It takes two weeks, during which Ruby has to sleep on the larger living room but she's next to Blizzard so she doesn't mind.

To thank you she gives you and dad half her cookies for a month and you know you did well.

It's the first time in a while you feel happy.

 

* * *

 

With all you've been through its only natural that you forget about your soulmate.

When you were younger you always imagined how they would look like and what their Sodalis would be. You dreamed about the day you'd meet them. About the life you'd have with them.

You looked at Midnight and try to guess which traits they share. You were sure your soulmate must be some kind of ninja judging from the way Midnight moved around without making a sound.

But after Mani and what happened with your dad, those happy thoughts turned into worried ones.

What if they were your soulmate, but you weren't theirs? What if what happened with your dad happened with you? Or even worse, what if it happened to Ruby? What would you tell her then?

After a while it becomes really exhausting to have to worry about these things and grow up at the same time, so you push them away.

You have a lot of things to do after all. Make sure Ruby has everything she wants, keep your dad in line and make sure he doesn't fall into his old habits again.

And of course ever since you found out you never stopped looking for your mother. You asked Qrow a lot of questions about her, but never your dad. You can tell that it is still a sore subject for him and you don't want him to pull away again.

Your uncle doesn't tell you much but sometimes when he's slightly drunk he will slip up and tell you bits of information about where she might be. Then you and Midnight will sneak out during the night and follow those leads.

Unfortunately they always lead to dead ends.

And on top of all of that you have school to go through. You make it your goal to get accepted into Beacon, not only because your parents went there but you also want to have something in common with Raven that's not blood.

The nights when you don't have a lead to your mother you'll stay up all night and study to make up for the time you lost from your search or from working out.

Midnight stays up with you keeping you company and waking you up every time your eyes close. He understands your reasons even though you can tell he doesn't agree with your methods.

Of course when you take it too far he will growl, bite your shirt and drag you to the bed, where he will lie down on top of you to make sure you won't get up.

It's probably because of him and his faith in you that you manage to do all those things without having a meltdown.

Eventually the time comes and you get accepted to Beacon. Dad buys you a badass motorcycle to congratulate you and it is the best day of your life. It even has a side basket for Midnight and matching helmets and goggles for both of you.

The first thing you do is take Ruby for a drive as Blizzard gallops beside you, struggling to keep up despite his amazing speed. You laugh as Midnight cowers into his basket scared out of his mind.

He stays away from you for the rest of the day as a punishment.

The next couple of days you spend driving around so that Midnight will get used to it. He forgives you when you drive him up to the farm where he gets to chase the sheep. And then when the farmer chase _you_ waving a shotgun around, he quickly jumps into his seat without any hesitation as you speed off as far as you can, you know he is cool with it all.

 

* * *

 

It’s during your time in Beacon where you learn about a man who might be able to help you track down Raven.

Junior Xiong is not a decent man. He runs a nightclub on the shady part of the town. But word on the streets is that if you want to find someone you go to him.

At this point you have reached a dead end on your search and you are desperate for any lead you can get.

You don’t think twice about how dangerous it could be, you just put on your best boots and get on your bike with Midnight.

You park a couple of blocks away from the club. You don’t want to attract any more attention to your self.

It’s too early for the club and only a few people are sitting on the tables drinking and no one is dancing. You can see most of them are Junior’s men from the matching suits and red ties.

You don’t let that bother you as you find Junior and ask him about Raven.  He mocks you and you get angry and before you know it you have punched him in the face and all of his men are suddenly after you.

You are heavily outnumbered but you and Midnight still put up one hell of a fight. You know your only hope is to somehow get to the door and your motorcycle. And somehow you do manage to get out of there.

Knuckles and nose bleeding, black eye already forming, ribs bruised if not broken, a split lip and a gash on your left eyebrow but you still take out most of Junior’s men and get out.

Your dad has taught you well.

But it’s not over. The others follow behind you and Midnight’s limp does not make it easy for you to escape.

You try to shake them off but you make a wrong turn and you come across a dead end.

You turn and see six men and their Sodalis close in on you.

You get into your fighting stance with Midnight growling next to you.

You do not know if you will survive this but you sure as hell won’t go down without putting up a fight.

They are about to rush you when suddenly a hooded figure jumps in front of you and they freeze.

You can’t see who it as they are covered by the shadows and the black cape they are wearing, but the men take a look at the newcomer and with a chuckle continue their advance.

You want to yell at them to get away and not get involved in this.

This is your fight.

Your mistake.

Whoever this person is, they don’t deserve to pay for your mistakes.

You reach out to them to pull them behind you when a gust of wind makes you stumble and fall to your knees and a rain of fire falls from the sky.

Fire falls in front of the men’s feet, a warning shot. The whole alley gets ten degrees hotter as the flames illuminate everything with a warm orange glow, casting dancing shadows all over the alley.

You hear the men’s scared yells and you see them run away from the fire as a glistering golden mass of...  _something..._ falls heavily on the spot they were a couple seconds ago.

The beast roars after them and the sound is so deafening that the whole alley shakes.

You are paralyzed.

So is Midnight.

The beast flaps its wings once and turns its massive body to face you.

It’s a dragon.

Huge and laced with golden scales that reflect the flame’s light on the walls all around you, creating little stars that swift and change with every move it makes.

Its intense purple eyes fall on you first and you feel like looking in a mirror.

Those are your eyes looking back at you from the head of the dragon.

Then the beast’s gaze moves and it locks eyes with Midnight.

You can feel a change in him the moment their gazes meet, but you can’t put into words what that change is.

That’s when you see a delicate hand in front of you.

You take it and the figure pulls you up on your feet.

Your heart beats loudly in your chest and you can’t shake the thought that the stranger’s hand fits perfectly on your own.

But the contact ends too soon as they pull back and in a swift move pull their hood down.

They first thought in your head is that these are Midnight’s eyes staring back at you.

And they are, in a way.

Just like the dragon’s eyes, are your eyes.

Your heart skips a few beats.

Your breath gets caught in your throat.

You know that everything in your life has led up to this moment.

“I’m Blake” The girl speaks and you just found your favorite sound.

“And this is Helios” She points over her shoulder at the dragon.

“And I’m your soulmate.”

 


End file.
